people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28 NLT). During Jesus’ life on earth, He taught us what it means to be fully human: to have a trusting, open, intimate relationship with God and with others. Jesus was not without His detractors. Eventually, Jesus’ enemies succeeded in having Him put to death. They thought they were getting Him out of the way, but in truth they were playing right into God’s plan. By surrendering His perfect life, Jesus revealed His role as our Messiah. He traded a perfect life for our lives, scarred and battered by sin. No longer were we identified as children of sin, but now children of God! Just as Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden of Eden, relishing His fellowship, all those who would accept Him were now wrapped, as it were, in His clean white robe and pronounced worthy to stand in His presence—loved and forgiven. And having given His life, He arose from the grave and conquered the penalties for sin once and for all. No wonder the name Jesus means “savior.” Hallelujah! What one word best describes your relationship with God right now? Do you find it interesting that God’s plan for mending the breach in our relationship with Him involved the birth of a child? Yet what better way to bring us back into the family of God? As Jesus Himself put it, we can be born again (John 3:3). All of us were born once in a physical sense, and all of us need to be reborn spiritually in order to enter this new relationship with God. We do that by faith, that is, by taking Jesus at His word and placing our confidence in Him. John the apostle said, “To all who did accept him and believe in him he gave the right to become children of God. They did not become his children in any human way—by any human parents or human desire. They were born of God” (John 1:12–13 NCV). This is a profound change that goes far deeper than simply deciding to turn over a new leaf. When we accept the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross, He sends His Holy Spirit to live
Rediscover Easter: The Path to New Life 19